Souhan: Vikings are in dire straits, and it’s not Carson Wentz’s fault

DUBLIN – Perhaps only in Ireland could “Zombie,” the Cranberries’ protest song about the Troubles, become a sports stadium anthem.

On their first trip to Ireland, in a stadium filled with Steelers fans and epic decibel levels, the Vikings resembled the song title. They’re barely ambulatory and not looking very lively.

Their 24-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at Croke Park left them as a particularly desperate 2-2 team.

They have a quarterback who was out of football in August playing behind an offensive line devastated by injuries, they just lost a winnable game against a 41-year-old quarterback, and after they play the Browns in London next week, their next four games will be against Super Bowl contenders: The Eagles, Chargers, Lions and Ravens.

Don’t blame Carson Wentz for this loss. He threw two tipped interceptions, too often retreated when under pressure and lofted two inexplicable passes that would have been terrible ideas if they had landed in the field of play.

But what can you expect from a 32-year-old journeyman who is still learning the offense? He threw for 350 yards and two touchdowns despite being under constant pressure and playing from behind most of the day.

Who should get the blame for this team’s dire straits as they head to the land of Dire Straits?

The first: Trading for Sam Howell to be the backup to young starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Howell couldn’t even survive cutdown day, making him a waste of assets and time. The Vikings signed Wentz because Howell couldn’t do the job.

The Vikings should have been much more aggressive in finding a more suitable backup to McCarthy.

The easy second-guess is that the Vikings should have signed Aaron Rodgers, who played well on Sunday, but you don’t draft a quarterback with a top-10 pick and then make him sit for two full seasons.

The more worthwhile second-guess: In rebuilding their offensive line, the Vikings signed four-time Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly, who had a history of concussions. The 32-year-old left Sunday’s game because of his second concussion in a season that is only four games old.

Kelly is a fine player, but concussion problems only get worse. The Vikings would be better off with a healthy Garrett Bradbury than an ailing Ryan Kelly.

The rebuilt offensive line features two healthy starters: left tackle Christian Darrisaw, whose absence cost the team in the Week 2 loss to Atlanta, and right guard Will Fries, the only offensive line starter to take every meaningful snap this season.

Rookie left guard Donovan Jackson was impressive before having wrist surgery. Kelly might need to consider retirement after another concussion. And right tackle and team leader Brian O’Neill is feared to have a knee injury that could sideline him for a while.

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and his players refused to use injuries as an excuse for their performance, but injuries are an explanation for poor performance.

In the two seasons O’Connell has had a healthy starting quarterback, his record is 27-7. When Kirk Cousins was injured in 2023, and in this season featuring McCarthy’s ankle injury and the desperate signing of Wentz, he is 9-12.

“I never look at it as anything more than `Next man up,’ ” O’Connell said Sunday.

It’s not when your quarterback, three of your offensive linemen and two of your linebackers are unproven young players, or journeymen.

They miss Kelly and Jackson, they will miss O’Neill, they miss Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman on defense, and they might be facing the rare early-October, must-win game against a Cleveland team with a powerhouse pass rush.

There is a chance that when McCarthy returns, he will be asked to either save the season, or prepare for 2026.